1. Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Debbie Burniston
Spatial Distributions and temporal trends of contaminants in the St Clair R and Implications for Lake Erie
Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance
Debbie Burniston

2. WQMS programs –St. Clair R
Great Lakes sediment monitoring program (GLSMP) 1996 (recently CMP) formerly GLSAP
St. Clair upstream/downstream (u/d) program 1987; GLAP
Areas of Concern monitoring program; GLAP ; St. Clair R. Survey 2008

3. St. Clair R. U/D Program
Purpose: to assess the differences in water quality between the head and mouth of the river and relate these to chemical inputs from the Canadian shoreline
Measure the effectiveness of source remediation activities

4. St. Clair R. U/D Program
Two permanent sampling locations established in 1987 at the head (Point Edward) and mouth (Port Lambton) of the river
Water centrifuged for dissolved and suspended solids
OCs, PAHs, metals, mercury, nutrients, MI

5. St. Clair River Sampling Site Locations

6. Temporal Trends 2000-2007 Trends for 2000-2007 Point Edward
Point Edward
Port Lambton
Phase
Trend
Significance
Hexachlorobutadiene
Diss D NS
ssol S
Octachlorostyrene U
Hexachlorobenzene
Mercury
Whole
Acenaphthylene
DDT
PeCB
Temporal Trends
Trends at PE are indicative of trends in Lake Huron and are indicated in green. Red indicates trends specific to St. Clair (XX)
Diss
Dissolved
ssol
Suspended solids D
downward U
Upward S
Significant NS
Not significant

7. Add axis title

14. total mercury
methyl mercury
µg/g
ng/g %
Mean
0.614
5.41
2.3
RSD 45
105 78
Min
0.017
0.78
0.2
Max
9.16
38.4
6.6
Median
0.329
4.21
1.4
TEL
0.17
69(31)1
PEL
0.486
31(14)
LEL
67(30)
SEL 2
2(1)
% of stations exceeding the guidelines (number of stations shown in brackets)

16. Great Lakes sediment management program (GLSMP)
Comprehensive surveys (GLSAP,Chris Marvin)
Synoptic work in current years funded through Chemicals Management Program (CMP)
Comprehensive survey Lake Erie 2014

18. conclusions
The St. Clair R. U/D program is an important program to show the results of remediation and management initiatives over the entire river temporally
AOC monitoring identifies localized issues within an AOC
GLSMP identifies the overall contaminant levels in the Great Lakes as well ,and overtime the improvements from to upstream initiatives

19. conclusions
Most chemicals have shown substantial decrease in the St. Clair over time
There are still some localized areas in the upper reaches of the river that have exceedances
We can expect to see improvements in the bottom sediments of Lake Erie in upcoming surveys